Thursday, November 18, 2010

SPC Quickies Volume Eight: It Only Does Everything

Besides play its back catalog, am I right? Nailed it. Regardless, tonight we're ending our look at my console collection with the PlayStation 3, a mighty system with some wonderful games both first and third party. Quickie reviews are always rated from 1-5, five being the best, one being the worst. Let's get to work!

007 Quantum of Solace - Bond is back, and this time Activision is in charge. Their first attempt combined both Daniel Craig movies, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, into one cohesive package. The gunplay was fast, fun, and forgettable, really, but I think Activision really nailed it when came to the controls. Online multiplayer had several enjoyable maps and there's seldom a wait to play. 4/5

3D Dot Game Heroes - This homage to Zelda does it well. You earn new weapons and items inside the game's many dungeons and you take on that dungeon's boss. The game is no slouch. The entire landscape and characters are made from dots. This unusual graphical style is a cool approach to the tired gray and ugly games on the system. Does it beat Zelda? No, but it's a good try all the same. 4/5

Batman: Arkham Asylum - The dark knight returns for this game that doesn't suck! A Batman game that doesn't suck? Get out of here! It's true and it plays similarly to a Metroid game in some aspects as you earn new gadgets to reach new places. The voice acting team from the animated series returns in epic fashion, and if that doesn't win you over, the fantastic gameplay will. 4/5

Darksiders - Get on your horse and start attacking. Darksiders plays like a brooding Zelda with items you get from dungeons that are used to defeat said dungeon's boss. It brings its own mythos to the table in a post-apocalyptic world. Haven't had many of those this generation. Regardless, if you're in for a Zelda-like experience hop on your trusty steed and banish those monsters to Hell. 4/5

Dead Space - Not since Resident Evil 4 has a game unnerved me as much as Dead Space. This goes especially true on Impossible mode where buying the right equipment can be the difference between death and survival. The evil necromorphs are hideous in their own right, but they're no sissies either. They'll happily run after you, sink their claws into your flesh, and rip you right apart. Dinner, anyone? 4/5

God of War Collection - Two games for budget price? I'm there. The God of War Collection features both God of War I and God of War II with some exclusive content thrown in for good measure. There's not much one can say about these two epic games, so I'll let the score do the talking. 5/5

God of War III - Enter once again Kratos' tragic past and present in God of War III, one of the most visually impressive games of our time. Though graphics can only get one so far as we've seen most of the tricks the God of War series has in its arsenal. There's really little new to this ultimate chapter of the series. Still, it's darned cool to whip the undead into shape Kratos-style. 4/5

Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds - What do you get when you take all the content-rich features from Hot Shots Golf Fore and translate it to the PS3? You get significantly less content, less features, and more importantly, less fun. The game still is enjoyable, but the lack of courses, characters, and challenges hurts this golfing extravaganza. 3/5

inFAMOUS - Play as Cole as you choose between hero or villain in this sandbox title. Hurt people and your street cred will be negative. Help people and your cred will make you popular among the townspeople. There's truly elements of Sucker Punch's last game, Sly Cooper, in the gameplay here from leaping atop poles and wires to effortlessly leaping to another platform. Just put the mute button on the annoying fat dude. 4/5

LittleBigPlanet - Create, play, and share is the mantra of the LittleBigPlanet series, and it's all wonderful. You can create epic levels with all the tricks and treats you can think of, play your level with others, or share it the masses online. That's not to mention the awesome single-player mode where you can gain your ideas from. A content-rich game anyone can enjoy, LittleBigPlanet gets a big recommendation. 5/5

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - I loved MGS3: Snake Eater, so I assumed I'd love the latest installment. Not a chance. It's as if Hideo Kojima did acid as he wrote the script of this piece of crap. It made sense to him then, so why wouldn't it make sense to us? The gameplay is fine and never better, actually. The stealth gameplay is fun. It's just the damned story that blows chunks. 3/5

ModNation Racers - Taking that mantra of LittleBigPlanet and using it on a racing game, ModNation Racers is a fast and fun kart racer that couldn't quite beat Mario Kart. Sure, you can create and customize your own tracks, but the racing part wasn't all quite there. Then you have the massive loading times, and you have a lot of frustration. Still, the game is really enjoyable, and creating your own tracks is an awesome experience. 4/5

Motorstorm: Pacific Rift - Motorstorm: Pacific Rift takes you on sixteen courses split up between four types of courses: air, fire, water, and land. Each course has been designed for maximum fun and carnage. Each track has specific routes laid out for specific vehicles. For instance, a big rig should take ramps that launch them into the air as a motorcycle shouldn't go through deep mud or water. A great racer that anyone can enjoy. 4/5

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time - You'd think after eight or nine installments in less than a decade would give a franchise a bit of fatigue, but with Ratchet & Clank, you'd apparently be wrong. This time, time travel is the main story arc with certain characters fixated on ruling the world one era at a time. It's up to Ratchet and Clank to take Dr. Nefarious out once again! With great platforming and great action, A Crack in Time is a great entry in this great series. 4/5

Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction - While A Crack in Time had a better platforming/shooting ration, Tools of Destruction is more about shooting than platforming. This isn't bad, mind you, but it does get a bit more repetitive. The signature humor of the series is there as is the entertaining gameplay, so what else could a person ask for? 4/5

Resident Evil 5 - Throwing away its survival-horror part of things and adding pure action, Resident Evil 5 is more about blowing away zombie-like characters than running in pure fear. At least Resident Evil 4 has some scary moments. Resident Evil 5 is really devoid of them. That doesn't make it a bad game. It's just a different one than what fans were expecting. Still, the gunplay's enjoyable and the surprises are many in this terrific title. 4/5

Resistance 2 - Play in one of three modes: the single-player campaign, cooperative mode, or multiplayer deathmatch style in Resistance 2. Most people are down on this sequel, but I found it quite a blast. The campaign was interesting enough, the cooperative missions were mad fun, and the multiplayer was balanced and quite good. This is coming from someone who nearly got his platinum. That's how much this game was a good time for me. 4/5

Saints Row 2 - The Saints are back, and this time they're pissed. The Row has turned into an ultra-rich part of the city, the gang's been split up, and your character had some reconstructive surgery. That's how bad that ship explosion was. The sandbox gameplay of Saints Row 2 beats out Grand Theft Auto IV easily to me. There's just more stuff to do and less "oscar-worthy" dialog. 4/5

Singstar - Singstar's my first singing game, so I went easy on it to be fair. The SingStore isn't updated nearly as much as it should be on the North American side of things, and the choice of music is mostly pop tunes instead of more interesting music like classic rock. Of course, that's just my preference. Can't fault the game for that. Singing solo or with a friend is a really cool experience, and going for high scores is its own challenge. 3/5

Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing - This was the game that to me beat out Mario Kart Wii. It's full of fair and fun racing with a host of SEGA characters represented such as Ulala, Aiai, Alex Kidd, and Beat, for starters. The courses are expertly designed with smart twists and turns and clever references to SEGA brands in the backgrounds. No matter the system, Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing is a fantastic racer worthy of your money. 4/5

Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection - Over thirty classic Genesis games on one Blu-ray disc is a mighty fine present indeed. There's some stinkers here and there such as Golden Axe, but for the most part, the collection is full of quality games. From Alex Kidd to Sonic the Hedgehog, there's a game here for everybody. 4/5

Super Street Fighter IV - I'm not too big on fighters. After playing Tatsunoko VS. Capcom on Wii, I was thinking fighting games weren't too hard to get into. Apparently I was wrong as learning moves, combos, and specials for each character is like studying for your midterm. It's a chore. I hate myself for wasting $40.00 new on this game. It's just not for me. 2/5

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune - Sure, enemies might be bullet sponges, and the game might be a little too linear for its own good, but Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is a sensational experience from beginning to end. It plays like a Hollywood movie which many games nowadays seem to aspire to but often fail. Well, Uncharted is no failure, buddy. It's got that hardcore action and gunplay that many games strive for. 4/5

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - Sure, enemies might still be bullet sponges, and the game might still be a little too linear for its own good, but Uncharted 2: Among Thieves triumphs over the original with more delicious set pieces, fast and wild gunplay, and an always smart-mouthed hero in Drake. There's no better experience than Uncharted 2 on the PlayStation 3 when you a little action in your life. 5/5

White Knight Chronicles: International Edition - This by-the-numbers action-RPG mixes human combat with giant relic combat. The story may be at times corny, but it's an interesting tale from beginning to end. The battling is rather fresh as well with plenty of monsters to slay, baddies to beat, etc. Is it the most originally RPG out there? No, but it is one of the more intriguing ones on the PlayStation 3. 4/5

Phew! What a workout! This concludes my grading my current-gen console collection, so until next time-- adieu!

If you missed a previous Quickie segment or just want to reminisce of old times, check them out here:[SPC Quickies]